As the travel industry deals with the effects of COVID-19 and its impact on international travel, travel advisors are using this period to redefine their business, learn new tools, and enhance the personal connection with their customers to best position themselves for when travel inevitably starts up again.

With travel at a momentary standstill, there’s never been a better time to boost your knowledge and sharpen your toolset.

According to a recent study by Destinations International Foundation, 38% of American travel agents and 35% of Canadian travel agents reported attending webinars to continue their education.

While travel agents are actively looking to engage with new types of continuing education, many other industries are offering remote courses for this very reason. Recently, Jamaica Tourist Board launched “Irie Hour” for Canadian travel advisors, giving advisors a chance to receive updates and news from the destination, as well as a variety of agent training sessions. Similarly, Travel Leaders Group has been offering agents tips and tricks to navigate the current landscape. Virtuosois offering a “COVID-19 Tool Kit”, which includes business resources, marketing tools, as well as professional development and training courses for their members.

At Umapped, we have various ways of continuing to support our agents as you expand your horizons and build a better business for your clients.

1 – Get Back To Basics

Has it been a while since you got in touch with the fundamentals of your travel technology? Take this opportunity to plug back into your tech. Become an expert in your travel technology so that when your customers come back, you’ll be able to wow them in new and exciting ways. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed or stumped, join one of our introductory webinars to get answers to all of your pressing questions.

2 – Start Dreaming of Future Days

Everyone is looking forward to the day when international travel will be ready again. Have you come across a luxury hotel or a destination spot recently that you know travellers will be dreaming about when planning their next trip? Use your time now to research and plan future trips that will amaze your client. Save them as Templates so that your future trips are ready to go.

3 – Boost Your Skills and Grow Your Confidence

Have you ever wanted to boost your portfolio by learning more about marketing strategies, project management, or a variety of other programs and skills? Hundreds of companies are offering free and discounted courses that travel agents can take advantage of to boost their professional skills and continue to improve their business.

edX – Offering classes on subjects ranging from programming to data science from highly accredited universities from around the world

Hootsuite – Offering a free introductory course on the Hootsuite platform for social media management

In order to better serve you when the travel industry emerges stronger than ever, Umapped is offering training opportunities to help you become a Trip Publisher expert. Our upcoming Beyond the Basics webinar series covers topics such as: customizing your Vendor profiles and using Templates to save your top-selling Trips.

Have a question that one of our webinars can’t answer? Schedule a 1-on-1 with a member of our Customer Success team where you can ask questions, voice your feedback, and get some useful tips!